Phoenix84 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (267)

• On the post: Activists Are Using AI To ‘Identify’ ICE Officers And That’s Definitely Not Good News

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 12 Sep, 2025 @ 07:28am

  That's because they have half a brain at least, and only go into blue states, which don't have some variant of "stand your ground" laws. If they tried this tactic in Texas or Florida, you know some agents would be killed.

• On the post: Something Good The Supreme Court Could Do: Finally Fix The First Amendment Problems With Platform Liability For Copyright Infringement

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 07 Sep, 2025 @ 09:15am

  We've lost the Supreme Court for a generation, to pretend otherwise is being delusional. Nothing progressive, or even useful, will come from them for the foreseeable future.

• On the post: Choosing ‘Daddy’ Over Democracy

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 02 Sep, 2025 @ 05:06pm

  They’ve chosen the comfort of thinking they know who their enemies are

  FTFY Every person that capitulated needs to be dealt with, preferably by being lined up against a wall. That was the mistake after the Civil War.

• On the post: Is It Still ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ If All The Predictions Were Accurate?

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2025 @ 10:36pm

  Trump Devotion Syndrome is the more accurate term. Unfortunately we're all facing the consequences of it.

• On the post: Trump FCC Installs Babysitter At CBS To Ensure The Network Kisses King Donald’s Ass

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2025 @ 07:13am

  Every accusation is an admission. I really want to see the next Democratic president (if we have one) do this exact same thing, or worse, to Fox. There's already signs the Democrats are willing to go low now (Newsom).

• On the post: Dem Senators Use Epstein Scandal To ‘Pressure’ Trump FCC To Drop Bogus Inquiry Into CBS

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 18 Jul, 2025 @ 07:25am

  Republicans are the worst scum on the planet, but they are strategic. Democrats are just stupid.

• On the post: Trump Administration Injects Even More Bigotry Into The US Military

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2025 @ 10:27pm

  I never understood that. You'd think white supremacists would relish the opportunity for non-whites to be willing to die for them. I'm surprised they're not trying to kick out the "superior" whites from the military, so the coloreds can die instead.

• On the post: Xbox Layoffs, Game Cancellations After Acquisition Blitz Continue

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2025 @ 08:25pm

  are they really going to allow such a blatant example of lies and hypocrisy, all to the detriment of the American worker and consumer, go completely unaddressed?

  Not only yes, but the mere fact of trying to bring it up would be immediately discounted as "fake news". America is an oligarchy, and this benefits the oligarchs, so yes, the beatings will continue until moral improves.

• On the post: SCOTUS Porn Ruling A Boon For Age Verification Companies; 40% Of Americans Now Live Under Anti-Porn Age-Gating Laws

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2025 @ 10:57pm

  So, why haven't books ever been regulated like every other media content? Movies have rating labels, music has "parental advisory" labels, but books have nothing. No indication of the type of content you might encounter in there. I'm not arguing in favor of it per se, I'm asking why it hasn't been done before?

• On the post: Nintendo’s Anti-Consumer Anti-Piracy Measures Also Reduce The Value Of The Switch 2

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2025 @ 11:12pm

  Shame on Walmart for selling a device without ensuring it would work for the buyer the way it is intended to work.

  I wouldn't entirely blame Wal-Mart. That's a pretty nuanced issue and you'd have to get pretty deep into testing to determine that problem, as described by the article itself. I've worked in electronics retail before, a return is tested to make sure it can power on, charge, and buttons operate. It's possible they weren't aware the consoles can be banned. What they could do instead of open-box resell, is any returns are just return-to-vendor (RTV). The place I worked at before (Fry's) would do that. Some products were always RTV, never repackaged and resold. Now, perhaps with Game-Stop, I'd expect a more detailed testing. They're niche enough to be expected to do that.

• On the post: Surprise: Minnesota Killer Used Data Brokers To Target And Murder Politicians

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2025 @ 03:56pm

  It’s a hard lesson we’re going to learn again and again and again until Congressional lawmakers shake off the corruption and figure out how to craft competent legislation. Or we replace them. In other words, prepare to be waiting a while.

  I dunno, this seems like a problem that will eventually solve itself.

• On the post: Homeland Security Defies Orders, Engages In More Human Trafficking

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 23 May, 2025 @ 09:50pm

  Habeas Corpus

  Given that ICE Barbie said Habeas Corpus is the constitutional authority for Trump to deport people, nothing she does or says surprises me anymore.

• On the post: VPNSecure Lifetime Subscriptions: Now You Didn’t License What You Licensed, Either

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 21 May, 2025 @ 10:39am

  I actually got mine through TechDirt, now that you mention it. However, after noticing the scammy/scummy behavior of stacksocial "deals", I don't buy from them anymore, unless it's physical goods. The Office licenses they sell are illegal (or gray market at best), as the versions they sell are not available for individual purchasing. Once I noticed that, I soured on them.

• On the post: VPNSecure Lifetime Subscriptions: Now You Didn’t License What You Licensed, Either

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 20 May, 2025 @ 10:39pm

  Those "lifetime" subs actually were good for 10 year terms. I had one of them. I asked when I first got it what happens when that 10 years are up, and they said "you can contact us to reset it." Granted, this was with the prior owners like 7 years ago. They could have easily just let the current "lifetime" account terms run their course, then make people migrate. It would have been much better from a PR standpoint. It wasn't necessarily a problem for me that they terminated it. I honestly didn't expect it to even last the entire 10 years, but the cut off without prior notice is what irritated me.

• On the post: Gavin Newsom Has Lost The Plot

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 25 Apr, 2025 @ 09:15pm

  Ugh, I hate Newsom so much. Thank goodness CA has term limits for Governors, so we don't have to be stuck with this idiot forever. If there's one thing I can agree with Trumpers on, it's recalling this guy.

• On the post: 60 Minutes Producer Quits After Trump FCC Harassment, Saying Show Can No Longer Do Independent Journalism

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 24 Apr, 2025 @ 07:23am

  “The show is too important to the country,” he wrote. “It has to continue, just not with me as the executive producer.”

  The show will just be a shell of its former self, it won't be important once that happens. It's dead.

• On the post: Report: Trump Reportedly To Do Away With IRS Direct File Program For No Discernible Reason

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 17 Apr, 2025 @ 09:40pm

  I used Direct File for the last two years. It's an excellent service. I rushed to get my taxes completed in Feb this year once I heard DOGE was eyeing the IRS. I knew this was a target, I wanted to get mine done while the service was still operational. Next year I might just fill out the forms myself. For a simple W-2 filer, it's not that hard, and I have many prior years worth of forms to look at for help. Intuit and H&R Block aren't getting another penny from me.

• On the post: Garmin Smart Watch Users Pissed As Company Opens The Door To Paywall Enshittification

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2025 @ 09:36pm

  "Long battery life" is explained in the blog post. The new model is advertised as lasting 30 days between charges. That's unheard of in the smartwatch arena. I don't mind needing to recharge it periodically, I just don't want to have to charge it more than once a week.

• On the post: Garmin Smart Watch Users Pissed As Company Opens The Door To Paywall Enshittification

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 14 Apr, 2025 @ 07:25am

  Battery life

  The one feature Garmin has over most all other smartwatches is battery life. I'm a Pebble user, and no other smartwatch I've found offers similar battery life to a Pebble than Garmin (Venu 3). If I have to charge my watch every day, or every other day, it's useless. Except now; Pebble is back: https://repebble.com/ I almost pulled the trigger on a Garmin until a saw repebble. I got the Core Time Duo instead.

• On the post: RFK Jr. Travels To Texas To Look Over What He Helped Create, Including A Tiny Casket

  

  Phoenix84 ( profile ), 09 Apr, 2025 @ 11:03pm

  What's weird though, isn't this the same party that decried "death panels" for the ACA? Seems like death panels are exactly the type of thing they'd fight for.

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